The present invention relates to a swash plate compressor for air-conditioning vehicles and a radial ball-and-roller bearing for supporting a swash plate.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-196525 describes a swash plate compressor as shown in FIG. 5. A housing 101 includes a crank chamber 102 and cylinder bores 103. A drive shaft 104 is supported by the housing 101. A support plate 105 is supported by the drive shaft 104 and rotates integrally with the drive shaft 104. A cylindrical boss 107 projects from the center of the support plate 105. A swash plate 106 is supported by the boss 107 through an angular ball bearing 108. The angular ball bearing 108 permits the swash plate 106 to rotate relative to the support plate 105. A piston 109 is accommodaed in each cylinder bore 103. Each piston 109 is coupled to the swash plate 106 through a pair of shoes 110.
Rotation of the drive shaft 104 is converted into reciprocation of the pistons 109 in the cylinder bores 103 through the support plate 105, the angular ball bearing 108, the swash plate 106, and the shoes 110.
In another prior art compressor (not shown), a swash plate is coupled to pistons by rods instead of shoes. This type of compressor includes a mechanism for preventing the rotation of the swash plate such that a strong force is not applied to the couplers between the swash plate and the rods and between the pistons and the rods. In contrast, the compressor of FIG. 5 does not include such mechanism, which simplifies the structure of the compressor. Also, there is no need for forming seats for receiving the rods on the swash plate 106, which simplifies the shape of the swash plate 106.
Friction occurs between the swash plate 106 and the shoes 110. Therefore, the swash plate 106 is hardly rotated by the support plate 105. This prevents friction caused by sliding motion between the shoes 110 and the swash plate 106, which extends life of the parts and prevents power transmission loss.
In the compressor of FIG. 5, an angular ball bearing 108 is located between the boss 107 and the swash plate 106. The bearing 108 includes outer and inner races and balls located between the races. This type of bearing is widely used. However, there is a need to simplify the structure of the bearing 108 to reduce manufacturing costs.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a swash plate compressor having a simple bearing structure.
To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a compressor. The compressor has a housing. A cylinder bore is formed in the housing. A piston is accommodated in the cylinder bore. A drive shaft is rotatably supported by the housing. A support plate is integrally driven with the drive shaft. The drive shaft extends through the support plate and inclines with respect to the axis of the drive shaft. The support plate has an axially projecting boss. A radial bearing is located about the boss. The radial bearing has an outer race. A disk-like swash plate is formed integrally with the outer race. The swash plate is connected the piston to cause the piston to reciprocate.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.